


A Pleasant Wedding

by NothingSerious



Series: On Friendship, Love And Other Catastrophes [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam and Helen become friends, Adam-Centric, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Blue Lily Lily Blue, Pre-The Raven King, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish Fluff, good things happen to Adam, successful communication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 13:08:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6425257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NothingSerious/pseuds/NothingSerious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"HELEN! My friend is not a rent boy or escort!"</p><p>Helen needs a plus-one for a wedding and asks Adam.<br/>Because - why not?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pleasant Wedding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Atisenia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atisenia/gifts).



> My cheerleader and my dearest ally. Thank you for everything.

"No, Helen, no! Absolutely not!"

Gansey stands with the back to the room at the window of Monmouth Manufacturing. They all have been huddled over maps and photographs on the floor when Gansey received a call from his sister.

"If you really need someone I could-" Gansey says but stops short. "All right, when I'm such a burden to you... No, I don't think I'm exaggerating. Don't you have enough acquaintances for such events?... Yes, I understand that but... No, but some people do have to actually work for their living!... HELEN! My friend is not a rent boy or escort!"

Four pair of eyes snap up at at this outburst so unusual for Gansey. Blue's and Adam's eyebrows raise up to their hairlines whereas Ronan curves his mouth into an ugly smirk. Noah smiles knowingly.

"All right, I'm sorry, but-" Gansey sighs. "Yes, you can ask him yourself." Gansey turns towards them. "Adam? My sister wants to ask you something." Gansey's pained expression makes Adam's stomach lurch.

"Me? What?"

Ronan's smirk becomes uglier. Gansey walks over to them and holds out the phone. "Here."

Adam takes the phone hesitantly and stares at it. All eyes are now trained on him. He looks at Ronan.

"May I use your room?"

Ronan makes an elaborate gesture with his hand. "By all means, Parrish. But remember, whatever she's going to pay you, Dick gets at least 10 percent!"

Blue throws a pen at Ronan's head and Gansey kicks him in the side while Noah falls over laughing.

Adam sighs and gets up. He steps into Ronan's room and closes the door behind him. He takes a deep breath and presses the phone to his good ear.

"Helen, how are you?" he says politely into the receiver. He considers sitting down somewhere, but as always, Ronan's room is a complete dumping ground of clothing, books, CDs and dream objects scattered around. So Adam stays where he is and leans on the door.

"Would you please kick or punch Lynch for me? And while you're at it, give Dicky a good whack over the head for giving him this idea. Honestly, these two idiots..."

The way Helen's gentle voice and elegant accent carry these words sends a smile to Adam's face and he relaxes profoundly.

"Will do, Helen, with pleasure. How may I help you?"

"See, that's exactly why I wanted to ask you in the first place. But I didn't know how to contact you directly, so I had to call Dick and he's so... so... but I digress." Helen clears her throat and starts to rattle on. "Adam, I have to attend a wedding coming Saturday and am in dire need of a plus one. I know, it's very last-minute, but I have to step in for my parents who are unable to go, some stomach bug caught them, ugly business, let me tell you, but it is important that at least one Gansey represents the family. Lots of significant people are going to be there, old family friends, old and new money, potential supporters and donors, you get the gist. I cannot ask any of my acquaintances - either they lack the necessary seriousness, intelligence or are simply too obnoxious to spend a day with. And I don't want to ask Dick because he would be miserable the whole time and I couldn't possibly bear his pained face for hours. It's too important to leave a striking impression with these people. So, Adam, would you do me the honour of accompanying me to this wedding? Please?" She emphasizes the _please_ like a sweet little girl.

Adam takes a deep breath. His mind is whirling with all the facts she has given him. Important people. Rich people. And she wants him. Sounds frightening. And yet - he's intrigued. He will have to call the garage and the trailer factory to change his shifts. He's so going to regret this when his next pay will be less than usual. But somehow he knows it will be worth it. So he just says, "Yes, Helen. I would."

"Oh god, thank you." She sighs. "I know, these events aren't really fun but I promise to make the day as pleasant as possible."

Adam chuckles. Even though her sharp tongue is often pretty biting, Adam is sure that if anyone could make such experience pleasant, it's her.

"Listen, I'll email Dick the details. I'll pick you up on Friday afternoon. And I'll book us a lovely suite at the expense of my parents. If we have to do the whole show we do it properly. We deserve it."

 

****

 

As agreed, Helen picks up Adam on Friday afternoon with the helicopter.

The others followed him downstairs and stand now like over-protective parents at the door to Monmouth Manufacturing.

"Go kick ass," Blue tells him.

Gansey says thankfully nothing. He looks grateful and worried at the same time. When Adam walks towards Helen, Ronan calls after him.

"Remember: No kissing! And wear protection!"

Adam turns around and flips him off with both hands while he walks backwards. He sees Blue's elbows swiftly snapping up behind her and making contact with Ronan's middle. It took Ronan by surprise so it's no wonder that he forgets his manners and shoves her with a bit more force than he would have used usually. Blue turns around, her right fist already up, but Gansey moves quickly between them and grabs her hand with his left and shoves his right into Ronan's face. Adam shakes his head and laughs.

"Nice family you have there," Helen says to him amused, her perfect eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I know. The best." He presents her a broad grin that falters when he looks at the helicopter behind her.

He's still not fond of flying this thing so he smiles gratefully when she hands him some chewing gum with ginger.

"Believe me, before I learnt to fly this beast I puked my heart out whenever I stepped onto a plane."

He narrows his eyes at her.

"Yeah, well, it's not an unforgivable weakness." Helen shrugs and tilts her head towards the helicopter. "Shall we?"

Adam nods and follows her.

 

****

 

The flight has been bearable this time, the chewing gum has helped immensely, so when they switched from the helicopter to a limousine - "Hey, I told you, we deserve everything we can get!" - he didn't feel as queasy as the times before.

 

Helen wasn't kidding when she'd said she's going to book them a suite.

"Ah yes, this is nice," she says, when they enter the room - bright, spacious and modern decorated with a massive C-shaped couch on one side and a large dining table with chairs on the other. Adam breathes in. He hears the whisper of a promise deep in his mind. _Yes, something like this. One day_ , it says.

Helen gives the porter her tip and motions for her to put the bags down.

"So, which bedroom would you like? Light gray or-" she leans forward to look around Adam, "-cream?"

"Uhm," says Adam and looks from one bedroom to the other. They are identical except for the colour and the paintings above the beds. "I can take the gray one if you prefer cream."

"Nah, let me have the gray one. I'm in an adventurous mood." She winks at him and carries her suitcase to the gray bedroom before Adam can catch up to do it for her. He sighs and rubs self-consciously his neck.

 

He hangs his suit bag on the hook by door when Helen calls out for him.

"So, Mr Parrish, what about dinner? Fancy the restaurant downstairs, a trip into town or room service?"

"Uhm," he says again. He rolls his eyes at himself for the lack of language. He sighs. "I don't know. I'm not that hungry. And isn't the restaurant a bit too much?"

"I agree on the restaurant." Helen says as she appears at his door, grabbing the doorframe with her hands and leaning in. "So room service it is." She pushes herself off from the doorframe and flops down on the massive couch in the living room with the menu and an expansive _uff_.

Adam begins to unpack his bag.

"Oh my, this all sounds very promising, Mr Parrish. A whiff of Italian, Argentinian steak and, oh, I think this sounds like Mexican," she calls to him. Adam pauses with toilet bag in his hands on his way to his bathroom.

But Helen doesn't wait for him to reply.

"Does it even make sense to ask you what you'd like or shall I just order something?" Adam snorts. But even before he could think about a reply, she answers the question herself again. "All right, I'll just order something of everything and tell them to bring two plates extra."

Adam puts the bag above the sink and smiles at himself in the mirror. He hears Gansey's thoughtfulness and upbringing in her voice and her determination reminds him of Blue. Not the worst combination of traits to have. He straightens carefully with his index the little shower gel bottles and soap bars bearing the hotel insignia he's knocked over with his bag.

"All right in here?" Helen asks from behind. Adam startles. He hasn't heard her coming in.

"Yes, perfectly. Sorry."

Helen looks at him and smiles, her head a little tilted to the side. "Come, keep me company while we wait for the room service."

 

Helen sits tucked into a corner of the comfy couch and hugs a pillow while she picks grapes from the fruit bowl she's placed between them. In front of them on the coffee table are the remnants of a rather opulent meal. It irritated Adam at first but Helen has fend off any objections with a stern _We deserve all of it_.

While they've eaten, Helen had explained to him the schedule of the next day. The wedding service would start at 4 pm so that the car would come around 2:30 pm to pick them up. This leaves all morning for them to relax and get dressed. Adam has raised an eyebrow but said nothing. 

"Yeah, well. Then I'll take my time getting dressed and you can do whatever you like, watching TV or..." she's said with a wave of her hand.

Adam's reply was that he's going to use the time to do some studying. He's packed his notes and books in the hope he might squeeze some learning into the weekend. Not in vain, it seems.

 

"Tell me about your school," Helen says and swirls a grape in her fingers.

"What?"

"Tell me about your school."

"I heard you. But why? Doesn't Gansey talk about it enough?"

She snorts. "Yeah, right. As if Dick talks about anything else than his king."

"Could we- could we not call him that? He hates it and I..." He trails of.

"You respect him." Helen considers the grape in her hand.

Adam nods. "Yeah, of course I do. Immensely."

Helen looks up at him. "Be assured: This feeling is definitely mutual."

Adam furrows his forehead and tilts his head. What?

"Just in case you were wondering." She finally pops the grape into her mouth with the eloquence of a film star.

"I- I wasn't," stammers Adam, not knowing what to do with her statement. But Helen just looks at him blandly and indifferent as best as one can do when chewing grapes. So he simply adds, "But thank you," laced with spite, not being sure if this the correct answer.

Her mouth curls to a teasing smile. "So. Now tell me how it is to be the best student of the school."

Adam scoffs. "I thought Gansey doesn't talk about school?"

"Yeah, well, he has mentioned that fact to my parents. Extremely proudly, I should add."

Honestly taken aback this time, Adam presses his lips together and picks angrily an apricot from the bowl, throwing it from one hand to the other.

He refuses to look at her. He knows Gansey respects him. But that he's also proud of him? And why does he talk to his parents about him? What do they know?

It's humiliating enough just thinking about it. Having Helen telling him makes it even worse.

"I'm sorry," Helen says. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I had to promise Richard not to do that."

"No, it's fine..." Adam replies bluntly, still not looking at her and still playing with the fruit.

It's not fine. Not even remotely. He hates being embarrassed and he even more hates it when Gansey's interfering; damn him for his good intentions. But he's not going to tell her anything of this. Him being at the top of the class isn't something he wants be to but more something he has to. Why do people don't understand that?

Helen must sense that she's overstepped because her confident posture falters. Her face softens.

"I only tried to make conversation and I failed badly. I'm just not used to-" but she stops herself before she can cause more damage. "I’m sorry," she says quietly and shoves her perfectly manicured hand in his direction. "Give a subject we can talk about. Please."

Adam presses his thumb into the crease of the apricot and divides in two halves. He sighs and rolls his shoulders, forces himself to relax.

"Tell me about the people we're going to meet tomorrow. Tell me what to expect." he says finally and bites into one half of the apricot, offering her the other.

She takes it and her face brightens. Chuckling, she slumps down on the couch. "Oh. My. God! Where do I even begin?!"

 

Helen shares with him all her accumulated knowledge about the members of the nation's 1% most likely to make an appearance tomorrow. She lists quirks and curious traits that give him a sense that even the richest of the rich are first and foremost only human. He feels already better about meeting them. Helen dislikes them as much as her brother does but she's more willing to see the upside than to let the pressure of the charade weigh her down.

She tells him a tale from a banquet where a judge had turned up with a massive coffee stain on his shirt which he either hadn't noticed or had decided to ignore and anyone else had been too polite to mention it to him.

Adam laughs so hard he almost falls from the couch if it weren't for Helen who grabs his arm in the right moment.

A phone ringing startles them both in their quest to regain countenance.

Adam looks at Helen and Helen looks at Adam.

"It's not mine," she says and points to her phone on the table.

"But I don't own a phone," Adam says as matter of factly.

"Apparently you do now. The noise comes from your room." Helen nods in that direction.

Frowning, Adam gets up and walks over to his room. Indeed, the ringing comes from inside his bag on the bed. He digs into it and pulls the vibrating and blaring thing from a side-pocket of his bag. It's Ronan's and it shows Gansey's name on the screen. He swipes to answer the call.

"Yes, Gansey?" he says.

"Wrong, loser," tells him Ronan on the other side. "You'd make the perfect innocent drug mule if you don't even check what's in your bag."

"I didn't think my friend would be such a shithead to hide illegal stuff in my luggage. Apparently I was wrong." Adam is happy that it's Ronan calling him and not Gansey.

"Man, I hadn't you down for such a gullible fool. My bad."

" _Stultorum est se alienis immiscere negotiis,_ " Adam tells him laughing, well knowing that they'd long crossed the line from respecting the others privacy and property into the communal life of sharing everything from time to space to secrets. Telling him now to mind his own business is just plain futile.

"Parrish, why, insulting me in Latin! I'm flattered!" Ronan says with a high-pitched voice.

Adam chuckles. "If I'd known earlier that Latin gets you turned on to such extent, I'd have used it sooner to sweet-talk you into getting things done," he says deliberately slow, every syllable pronounced and the voice deep.

Adam hears Ronan taking a deep breath. "Yeah, now you know my secret. Use it wisely." Ronan says this calm and almost upset. This admission makes Adam stop in his tracks. What happened just now? What did he say? He sighs.

"OK, Lynch, why did you hide your phone in my bag? Have you installed some crude tracking or listening app to follow up on me?" he asks lightly.

Ronan snorts. "As if I would know how to do that. No, I thought it would be good for you to have a means of calling for backup in case Your Highness gets too cocky with her demands and you need advice on female anatomy."

Adam snorts. "Thank you for your concern but I think I know how it works." Adam tries for a dismissive tone.

"Whatever, Parrish," grumbles Ronan. "In any case, I have confiscated Gansey's phone for the weekend. So if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm just a phone call or text away. And I've put some music on it. Some shit you might even like. Headphones are in the other side pocket with the charger. They work with only one ear."

Adam sighs tiredly and rubs his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Thanks, I think." And then, because it's been really very considerate of Ronan and Adam refuses to blasé about it, he adds, "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," mutters Ronan as if it would be really painful for him to be nice. "See you on Sunday," he says and hangs up before Adam can reply.

Adam stares at the phone and checks then the side pocket. Yes, there's the charger and the headphones with only one earbud. And a small packet of condoms. Of course. He huffs and shakes his head at the infuriating and impossible creature that is Ronan Lynch.

 

He pockets the phone and walks back into the living room where Helen waits for him, her beautiful lips curved into a cheeky smirk.

"What?" Adams asks. He doesn't like that expression on her.

"You two have a really sick understanding of pillow talk, I'm bound to say," she says laughing.

"What?" Adam asks again. This time more defiantly.

"Oh come on! You and Lynch!" Helen grins wide, showing off her snow-white teeth.

"We're not-" Adam starts but Helen interrupts him.

"Yeah, right. Better stop right there before you feel the need to start lying."

He opens his mouth to say something nasty but decides quickly against it. "What the fuck, Helen?" he says instead and frowns at her.

Helen looks startled at him. She then lifts both hands in surrender and rolls her eyes. "Sorry, sorry, I apologise. Again." She takes the hands down and clutches the pillow against her. "It's just my envy talking," she adds flippant.

Adam narrows his eyes but sits back down on the other end of the couch, putting more room between her and himself. Rather than asking, he waves his hand and motions for her to explain. He remembers of course what Gansey had said about Helen, her planning on kidnapping him, but it would be better to hear her out before he jumps to conclusions or even embarrasses himself.

Helen glares at him. But Adam is not easily to be intimidated. Helen sighs.

She pokes the corners of the pillow inside with her indexes and pulls them out again just to repeat the procedure. She sighs again. Adam watches her slightly amused but he keeps his face neutral.

"It's just-" She pulls harder at the corners of the pillow, obviously trying to find the right words. Adam waits patiently and motionless.

"You four are so close," she says finally. "And even your break-up with Blue hasn't changed that. From what I've seen, you all spent almost every free minute with each other, all in the name of Di-," a groan, "Richard's idiotic hunt for his stupid king!"

This surprises Adam. "You envy your brother?"

Her eyes snap up. She looks caught. She presses her lips to a thin line. "Yes and no," she admits, whispering. She stares ahead at the empty plates on the table. "I don't want to be like him but I'd like to have something like you have. This all-encompassing, close friendship. The mission. A plan. Someone on my side to follow through with." She leans her head on the back of the couch and looks up at him with sad eyes.

The light from the lamp on the side table lets her brown hair shine coppery. She's so pretty, especially in this unguarded moment, when she's not intent on intimidating him. Adam could feel sorry for her. Although she must know many people, she's lonely and he knows how that feels.

But unlike him it's her only problem. She has not to work three jobs to make ends meet and pay the tuition. She has the support of her family. She has not to worry what the future brings. She has the means to start a new endeavour every day and she envies them their friendship?

No, Adam refuses to comfort her. But not to bask in her vulnerability or as a way of getting back at her for the needling, but more to see what it brings to light about her.

"It's hard work," he states levelly.

She looks at him puzzled. "Work?"

"To maintain a friendship. It seems easy at first but you have to earn the trust and respect of people. It's not a gift. And it's nothing you can buy." Adam moves and sits sideways on the couch, facing Helen. He rests his elbow on the back and leans his head on his fist.

"I'm honestly not as shallow as you might think!" she retorts sullen and straightens in her seat, pillow pressed to her chest like a shield.

Adam smiles. He didn't deem it so easy to rattle her cage. Well, then. "I don't doubt that, don't get me wrong. But you have to be willing to put up with fights and discussions, loads of frustration and acceptance and hours of introspection."

"I know all that! But-" She scoffs and spreads the fingers of her hands as if she could grab the words from the air. There it is. What Adam has waited for. The honesty. The admission of not knowing how. Helen sinks back into a slouch, half sulky, half capitulating.

Adam looks at her and thinks of Gansey and Blue and Ronan and Noah.

He feels Ronan's phone in his pocket and remembers Gansey's worried face when Helen had picked him up. He remembers Blue's encouragement and her attack on Ronan when he had been, well, _Ronan_. He thinks of Noah's unexpected and ever so often ingenious appearances. They all mean the world to him despite the fights and the teasing and the often necessary tongue-biting. They silently share their fears and sorrows and celebrate their victories with boisterous joy. Meeting them might either have been mere happenstance or propitious fate but he's going to hold onto them out of sheer iron will.

He lifts his head from his fist and spreads his arm across the back of the couch.

"We could give it a go," he says carefully and makes a small wave with his hand.

Helen looks at it. She blinks twice. Adam counts three beats before she shoves her own hand forward and takes hold of his.

"And I promise to give my best to make it work."

Adam grins at her. "You could start by not making me uncomfortable any more."

Helen rolls her eyes dramatically but smiles, too. "Message received."

 

****

 

Adam stares at Ronan's phone in the dark after he's spent the rest of the evening with World History. He's found the playlist Ronan has compiled for him and he's been pleasantly surprised about its contents. It's not the expected raucous stuff Ronan listens normally to but soft, calm and melodic pieces, consistently merging from one into the other without abrupt leaps.

Adams thumbs open the messaging app and types _Thank you for the music_ to Gansey's phone.

Ronan hasn't deleted the texts he'd received from Gansey so Adam scrolls through them and grins.

 

_Where are you?_

_Meet us at Nino's._

_Pick up Adam and Blue._

_Putting an empty carton back in the fridge is honestly really bad behaviour!_

_It's your turn to buy milk._

_Lynch! You're an asshole!_

 

This last message is from Adam. Ronan had made them wait for him one hour before he'd deigned to show up. Gansey had been terribly agitated and nervous and this had made Adam terribly agitated and nervous and angry on top.

 

The phone vibrates. Adam scrolls down to read the newest message.

_U r welcome._

Adam smiles at the screen. Knowing Ronan's hatred for phones, Adam cannot help but feeling warm inside at this leap his friend has taken.

 _Y r u still up?_ asks Ronan's next text.

 _No reason_ , types Adam back. _You?_

_Reading_

_Really? What?_

The reply is quick and simple. The middle finger emoji.

Adam sends a big grin back and puts the phone on his chest. He listens to a classical piece when the phone vibrates again. He looks at it.

_Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo_

Adam blinks twice. He rummages in his mind for the vocabulary. _Pedicabo._ _Paedicare_ should be the infinitive. Uhm. Wait. What? Not sure if he has this correctly, Adam copies the text and pastes it into the browser app. The first entry tells him all he needs to know and confirms his suspicion. He laughs out loud and wipes a hand over his face. Of course, Lynch would read filthy Latin poetry in the middle of the night! What did he expect?

_Nice! That's a really interesting premise for your college application essay ;)_

Adam braces himself for something biting from Ronan but instead the reply reads: _Go 2 sleep parrish. U need ur strength 4 the bold & the beautiful_

 

Adam turns the music off, puts the phone on the nightstand and pummels the fluffy pillow. Unnecessarily, of course.

The pillow is of the expensive kind that holds its form throughout the night. Adam presses his nose into it and breathes in the clean smell of detergent and the pressing machine.

 

****

 

Adam wakes up to the smell of fresh coffee. He blinks his eyes open and spots a steaming cup on the nightstand. He grabs Ronan's phone and checks the time: 7:12 am. He sits up and rubs his eyes. His bedroom door is wide open and he hears the soft noises of cutlery on a plate. Adam runs his fingers through his hair and smiles at the cup of coffee. He leans over and grabs his t-shirt from the bench at the foot of the bed and pulls it on. Then he grabs the coffee. It's searing hot and strong. Perfect.

 

"Good morning, sunshine." Helen appears in the door and carries two plates and a cup. She wears the hotel bathrobe and has her hair tied up in a messy bun. "Breakfast in bed?" she asks.

Adam nods and smiles gratefully at her over the brim of his cup.

Helen steps on the bed at the foot and stomps over to him, slightly swaying on the soft bed. She holds out the plates and when Adam takes them from her, she plops down beside him without spilling her coffee. Adam is impressed.

"Croissant with marmalade or eggs on toast?"

Adam looks between both plates with raised eyebrows.

"A bit early for life-changing decisions, huh?" Helen chuckles and Adam nods again.

"All right. You drink your coffee and I start on the eggs. We can swap halfway through. There's more in the living room. And before you can say anything: We deserve it. The afternoon will be strenuous enough. Enjoy this. And then you have all morning to study." She grabs into the pocket of her bathrobe and gives him a napkin.

He looks at her puzzled when he takes it.

"What? You said you've planned to study in the morning. And I hate eating alone. So," she tells him and waves at the plates and the coffee. Then she stops.

"Wait. You didn't honestly think I got up that early to have enough time to get ready?!"

Adam only shrugs. What does he know?

"No! Of course not! Two hours, tops!"

Adam looks at her and almost can't believe it. She got up earlier than usual for her so that she can have breakfast with him and he has still enough time to learn.

"Thank you," he says, voice still rough from the sleep.

Maybe he should say more, because it really means a lot to him but his mind is blank. And Helen doesn't seem to expect more of him because she's already busy with her toast.

So Adam unfolds the napkin and puts his plate on it. Then he plucks the croissant in half, grabs his coffee and dips the piece into it.

"Hmmmm," he murmurs as he chews.

Helen chuckles again. "I see, you know the tricks."

Adam smirks and nods. The croissant is delicious.

They eat in companionable silence. Helen leans on the headboard, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. As agreed, they swap plates after either has finished their half. It should be weird, but today and here with Helen, it seems to be the most logical thing on earth.

Adam gets up and brings the rest of the breakfast tray to the bed. Helen pours them more coffee while Adam spreads marmalade on another croissant and hands it to her. She gives him his cup. He tucks into the last of the eggs when Helen speaks up.

"Does Lynch know that I know that he has Richard's phone?"

Adam gulps down his toast. "I don't think so, why?"

Helen tilts her head. "May we have then our sweet revenge for this ridiculous Pretty-Woman-insinuation?" Her eyebrows jump.

Adam looks at her. "I suppose you already have an idea?"

"Uhmmm- I have. Here." She grabs into the other pocket of her bathrobe and pulls out her phone. She thumbs at the screen and hands it to him, a blush on her cheek. Adam frowns at her and looks then at the phone. He sees a draft of a message to Gansey. It's a picture of Adam sleeping on his back with a peaceful expression on his face. A soft glow from the window plays over his bare chest and his face. One arm is spread above his head, the other rests on his chest right under his throat. He looks more like a model for underwear than like a eighteen-year old schoolboy. The text says, 'Our weekend so far is sensational' followed by a kiss emoji.

Adam laughs out loud. "Perfect! Sweet revenge indeed," he says and she looks a bit sheepish. Before he could over-think it he presses send. With a grin on his face he gives the phone back to Helen.

Helen is honestly surprised.

"You're not mad?" she asks.

He considers this. Should he be mad? He looks at Helen. The thought that she's seen him lying there and has wanted to take a picture of him flatters Adam. Maybe he is wantable.

Adam shakes his head and she smiles.

"It's a nice picture," he says.

"I think it's a beautiful picture," she says firmly and puts her coffee down on the nightstand next to her. "I took it when I brought you the coffee. You looked so peaceful. I couldn't resist. Then when I saw the strawberries on the tray, I came up with the idea for the text."

Helen takes a strawberry from the bowl.

Adam chuckles. "I'd love to know what's going to happen when they receive the text."

"Easy. Richard will go beetroot-red and Lynch will go green with jealousy and punch a wall."

"I agree on Gansey but-" but he cannot finish his sentence. Helen's phone on the bed rings and shows the number of Monmouth Manufacturing's landline.

Helen grins. "Let's find out," she says and puts the call on speaker.

"Good morning, little brother. How are you?" Helen says sweetly with a voice like honey.

"Don't give me that, Helen. What have you done? Lynch came just now storming in and yelling at me about the- uhm-" They hear Gansey clear his throat. "-that is my sister. So, what have you done?" Gansey's voice is exasperated and panicky.

"I have done nothing, Dick. But I sent you a text moments ago. Haven't you got it?" she says innocently.

"Text? No, I haven't! Ronan has my phone!" Gansey is almost shrieking now.

Helen takes on a mock surprise. "Oh my."

"Oh my?! What does 'Oh my' mean? You know what, forget it, Helen. Bye." Gansey hangs up and they hear the tone.

Helen and Adam burst out laughing. Helen grabs a pillow and buries her face in it.

Then she looks up at Adam. "Have I overstepped?" she asks between giggles.

"Nah. They deserved it." Adam wipes his face grinning. He gets up and walks to his bag, pulls out the packet of condoms and shows it to Helen.

Helen springs onto her knees on the bed and looks at him with wide eyes and mouth open. Then she slaps both hands at her forehead and lets out a loud cheer before she collapses back onto the bed laughing.

"You've convinced me," she pants, "We should have been crueller!"

In this moment, Ronan's phone beeps on the nightstand. Adam takes it.

"It's from Gansey. 'Hey, are you ok?' he asks." Adam shakes his head and Helen rolls her eyes.

"What does he think of me!" she cries.

Adam puts his finger to his lips and presses call. He puts the call again on speaker.

"Good Morning, Adam," says Gansey overly friendly, "How are you?"

"I'm splendid, Gansey, thank you for asking. Helen and enjoy a wonderful breakfast in bed. How are you?" Adam plays with nonchalance.

"Well, I- I-" but Gansey can't finish his sentence because he gets interrupted by Ronan.

"It was a joke, idiot! I didn't think you would-"

"Calm down, Lynch. Do you really think anything would happen without my consent? Everything is fine. I'm fine. Nothing has happened if you really must know," Adam says levelly.

"But what about the picture?"

"Yeah, Lynch, what about it? It's an innocent snapshot. Helen has captured me wonderfully, don't you think?"

"I think you're assholes!" Ronan barks and Gansey shouts an admonishing "Ronan!"

Helen hides her face behind her hands. Her body is shuddering with suppressed laughter.

"All right," Gansey says on the other side. "Have a nice day, Adam. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye Gansey." Adam ends the call.

Helen turns up from behind her hands. Her eyes are red and teary from laughter.

"I haven't had so much fun in weeks!" she wheezes.

"Yeah, me neither." Adam smirks. He enjoys seeing her so exuberant.

Helen wipes her face. "See! I told you! Jealous! But he had a point with the picture. I didn't have your consent when I took it."

Adam tilts his head. "Nnnnnnnnnnnnno. But you showed it to me. And sending the text was me giving my consent. I trust you won't do anything weird or embarrassing with it."

"I can delete it, if you prefer it." Helen hastens to say.

Adam looks at her thoughtful. Then he looks down because he feels suddenly very self-conscious about it. She wants to keep it. She wants to keep something of him. He thinks about the picture, how differently it looks from how he normally feels. He looks wantable. Helen has called him beautiful. He shakes his head.

"No, keep it, if you like. Just don't..."

Helen takes his hand like they did yesterday evening. "I won't. I promised."

 

****

 

The rest of the morning Adam spends over his notes and books at the dining table in the living room. Every now and then a glass of orange juice or plate with apple slices appear miraculously at the corner of his vision. Helen is always super fast and disappears into her room before he can say thank you.

At some point Ronan's phone vibrates. A text.

 _It's really a nice picture._ _Have her send it to gansey in an email and we print it out_ _as large as possible for the wall in monmouth_.

Adam rolls his eyes and doesn't deign to reply but takes a mental to ask Helen anyway.

 

At around 12:30 am Helen answers a knock at the door. Room service brings them sandwiches and salad for lunch. She joins him at the table, still dressed in the bathrobe but hair and make-up already perfectly done.

Adam slips slowly into his suit and when he stands before the mirror, tying the knot of his tie, Helen appears behind him.

She's dressed in a vista blue sheath dress and a string of white pearls encircles her neck. Her brown hair falls in soft waves on her shoulders. Adam stops in his doing and looks at her.

She is beautiful.

Adam cannot believe that this woman has chosen him as her companion for the day.

"Uhm," says Helen, seemingly self-conscious. Adam turns around. She holds a tie in her hands, matching her dress in colour. "I know it's rude to dress you up but I thought it might be nice- uhm- and it suits the colour of your eyes - what do you think?"

Adam looks at the tie in her hands and then up at her. He can see that she tries very hard to respect his boundaries but also wants to bring her point across without humiliating him. It's a fine line to walk, he knows that, and he appreciates her effort. So he tugs the knot of his tie loose and drops it on the dresser. He turns up his collar and intends to take the tie from Helen.

"Please," she says. "May I?"

Adam's hands fall to his sides and he turns fully towards her. She steps close and puts the tie around his neck. There's no other sound but the soft rustle of silk on silk and their breathing. Adam watches Helen's face. Her mouth is slightly open and her eyes follow the movement of her hands. He sees the brown on her lids, the black on her eyelashes and the red on her lips. He's always wondered about the transformation women's faces undergo throughout the day - from the waking up in the morning to the face for the day to the face for the evening. And they are always beautiful.

Helen pulls the knot tight and turns the collar back down, making sure the tie is neatly tucked under it. Her fingers are cold on his neck. Then she takes Ronan's phone and pushes it into the inner pocket of his jacket. She runs her fingers along the lapels and closes the first buttons for him, a soft smile on her face.

Helen is not looking at him so Adam can look at her.

"I know I have been an arrogant ass the first time I saw you in this suit," she says quietly. "But you look really dashing. I'm so glad you agreed to this." She finishes tugging and pulling at him and puts her hands on his arms.

"Ready?" she asks and looks him in the eyes.

"Ready."

She grabs her purse and the coat matching her dress and they both leave the suite, ready to face the enemy.

 

****

 

The wedding service was agreeable and rather short, not that Adam has any experience to compare it with. The church was gigantic in Adam's opinion. He sends Ronan some pictures and Ronan replies with some snarky comments on Protestantism. Adam thinks about how an apartment in this church would look like if it had one. He has to chuckle. Helen questions him and he tells her. Together, they plan the perfect apartment for this church, whispering in each other's ears.

"An open kitchen."

"In white."

"A large dining area."

"Large?"

"Of course. I have seen how much space you need for your work. I don't think it's going to change later."

"But maybe it has an office?"

"No, a library."

"Oh yes, that's much better."

"And a large bathtub."

"All right."

"And a fireplace."

"Really?"

"Why not?"

"I don't know, is it necessary?"

"Of course! It's romantic. Really, Mr Parrish."

"Thank you for the reminder, Ms Gansey, but I'm sure romance can be achieved otherwise."

"Yes? How? Do tell, Mr Parrish, I'm all ears."

So Adam tells her and Helen hangs on his every word.

 

****

 

The large ball room is modern and elegant and has been decorated modestly in white and grey.

No extravaganza, no elaborate finery. Adam's surprise was considerably. He finds it easier to bear this form of luxury than any overabundance of mahogany and gold. It's an observation that he shares with Ronan in another text.

"I'm so glad that the days of hyperbole are _finally_ over. Less is so much more, and the money one can save like this," says the woman next to Adam and Helen argues with her comprehensively and with many words, comparing weddings they had attended in the last year.

The husband looks at Adam and rolls his eyes at this while Adam tries to suppress a smirk. But Helen sees it anyway and stealthily pinches his thigh right above his knee. This startles him and he covers this with a cough.

"Oh darling, are you all right? This terrible cough, my poor- hum, where- You know what, let's go to the bar. I'm sure they can make you some tea. Please, excuse us." Helen grabs Adam's arm and drags him with her in the opposite direction of the bar.

"Ghastly woman this. Urgh," Helen says as she clings to Adam.

"Oh I don't know, you two seemed to get along just fine," Adam teases, playing along and placing his hand on hers on his arm.

"Mr Parrish, bite your tongue!" But Helen laughs all the same.

 

The afternoon passes by very pleasant, indeed, just as Helen had promised.

The speeches were funny and short, dinner was delicious and the bridal couple is nice and friendly - they didn't seem to mind the absence of the Ganseys and welcomed Adam cordially and with interest.

Helen shows Adam around and not _off_ as he had feared yesterday evening. Their interaction with the other guests reminds Adam of a nice game of catch - Helen throwing him the ball and Adam catching it with ease, then throwing it back to her without a glitch, like a perfectly coordinated team of pitcher and his catcher, already knowing what type of pitch comes next without having to argue about it.

He mentions it to her and she tells him that she used her morning wisely.

"What do you mean?" He tilts his head and looks at her. Her eyes flick from his face to his shoulder back to his face and away again. But then she finds the words she wants to say and looks him in the eyes.

"You said, friendship needs a lot of introspection. So I did."

Adam looks at Helen, his eyes roaming across her face. Her eyes are bright, resolve shining through. She really wants this. She wants Adam's friendship. She wants him. He really is wantable.

He decides that he doesn't need to say anything and takes instead her hand in his and laces their fingers together.

"All right, Ms Gansey. Who's next?"

Helen's eyes wander over the people in the room.

"I think I've found the perfect victim for us."

Before Adam knows what's happening, Helen leads him through the people and tables and introduces him to an older man with a friendly face and a garishly patterned tie.

"Senator Bixby! I didn't know you were coming!? I haven't seen you during the service."

"Helen, sweetheart! What a surprise! No, of course not, you know me. Sitting still, listening... I arrived just before dinner. Like a spy!" The senator laughs and enjoys Helen's kisses to his cheek.

"I'm so glad you're here, Abram! Please, meet my friend Adam Parrish. Adam, this is Senator Abram Bixby."

Helen clings to Adam's right arm and has her left hand on his shoulder, her thumb stroking his neck. This is different, he can feel Helen's excitement through her hands on him and hears it in her voice.

"A friend of Helen? Pleased to meet you, young man," Abram Bixby says and shakes Adam's hand, a firm grasp Adam tries to meet with equal firmness.

"He's a friend of Richard, too, Abram. They go to school together," Helen says hastily.

Yes, this is definitely different. This information Helen hasn't shared before with any of the other guests.

Abram still holds Adam's hand. "Oh really? And how's Richard? Well, I hope?" He asks Adam and not Helen. Does he know that Adam knows more of Gansey's well-being than his sister?

Adam nods but before he can answer, Abram asks, "Does he still drive this magnificent beast of a car?"

"The Camaro, you mean, sir? Yes, it's still kicking." Adam smiles.

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that." Abram let's go of Adam's hand and puts it on his shoulder. "That were cars back then, let me tell you. Oh, how I loved working on them!"

"So you owned one yourself?"

"What? No, of course not, my friend. I worked at a garage during college. When I've finished a car, I took them for a ride- ah well. I had to earn my tuition, you know? No rich parents." Here he winks at Helen but she smiles anyway. "And you, Mr Parrish? Do you already know where the future leads you?"

Ah, this dreadful question Helen and he were able to dodge all evening, coming at him without warning. Adam forces himself to keep smiling and answers honestly.

"Not really, sir. For now, I concentrate on school and work for a place at good college."

Abram looks at him scrutinizing and nods knowingly. "You do that, my friend, you do that. But if you allow me to give you an advice-" and here he looks around as if he's going to share a enormous secret, inching close to Helen and Adam, "-stay away from politics. Nasty business, nasty." He winks at both of them.

"Oh Abram!" Helen admonishes. But Adam grins at him relieved. He already likes the man so he nods once in understanding.

"Speaking of, Helen, sweetheart, how are your parents? I thought they're going to be here, too?"

"No, haven't you heard?" Helen whispers to him.

Abram looks at her, his eyebrows meeting his hairline and his mouth is shaped like a O. "They, too?"

Helen nods. "The whole team. They all hope to be back on deck by Monday."

"Oh my," Abram says. "Please give them my best. And you my friend, please tell Richard that I'm still waiting for the short spin he'd promised me ages ago."

"Will do, sir."

Abram looks again at Adam with that knowing, analytical expression on his face. With his hand back on Adam's shoulder he turns to Helen.

"Take good care of this one, will you, sweetheart?"

Helen smiles at him. "Of course. I will." Helen strokes Adam's arm. Adam assumes it as assurance - if for his or Abram's benefit he doesn't know.

"It's such a shame that I don't have more time for you two. But Mildred and I have to go back tonight and-" he looks around searching for his wife. "I should find her before she tries to find a wife for Arthur. As if being gay means he won't be able to give her her grandkids. Ah well." He chuckles.

"Don't worry, Abram, I'm sure we'll see each other soon," Helen says and kisses his cheeks.

"Goodbye, Mr Parrish. It was indeed such a pleasure meeting you."

There is the firm handshake again.

"And you, sir," Adam replies and with that Abram leaves them, carving his way through the people in search of his wife.

"That was-," begins Adam but stops short.

"Abram," states Helen levelly. Adam looks at her.

"Did you know about him working as a mechanic during college?"

"Yes. He and father spent once a whole evening in father's garage."

"Huh," says Adam and they keep it at that because there's not much to add.

He texts Ronan that he has met an old friend of Gansey and Ronan replies that in Gansey's case this can only be understood as literally.

 

Adam and Helen have become so accustomed to each over the day, mentally and physically, that he dares to place his hand at Helen's nape to get her attention and Helen doesn't even bat an eye.

"In the corner, left, the man, is this who I think it is?"

Adam turns them around so that Helen can look over his shoulder.

"Yes, he is. I think he's a friend of the groom." She smiles impishly at Adam. "Come on, Mr Parrish, let's talk to him."

"Why? I'm sure he's not going to donate for your mother's campaign. From what I've heard he puts everything his company earns and he can spare into his research."

"I know but it doesn't matter. Could be interesting. Let's talk to him."

Adam laughs and follows her lead. If someone asks him how he's feeling right now he'll be forced to confess that he's enjoying himself.

 

****

 

Sunday morning flies by - literally - and Adam finds himself with Helen and his bags in the parking lot of Monmouth Manufacturing.

Helen hugs Adam as tightly as possible, standing on her tiptoes and digging her chin into the crook between Adam's shoulder and his head.

"Thank you so much for coming. I had a really good time."

"Me, too," Adam replies. "If there's ever the need..." He says and hugs her back.

"Definitely." Helen loosens her grip around his neck and they look at each other. "You've spoilt me for any other men."

Adam snorts. "Yeah, sure." He has his arms still around her waist, his hands clasped behind her back and she leans into them.

Helen cups his cheek in her hand. "Don't make him wait too long. He might be an obnoxious asshole and I'm not convinced that he deserves you but I'm sure that he’s in love with you."

Adam sighs. "But I'm leaving after graduation."

Helen's eyebrows shoot upwards. "Did that keep you from pursuing Blue?"

She has a point there, admittedly. But he rolls his eyes anyway and focusses on the collar of her shirt.

"Why are you hesitating? I can see that you like him very much. And he's not going to make the first move. It's your call." She tilts her head to meet his gaze. Adam allows it.

"I know," he whispers.

Helen nods, goes back on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to his cheek. "Say Blue hello from me and tell Richard that he has one week to muster up the courage to call me and apologise."

Adam snorts. "Will do. Have a safe flight!" And with that Helen climbs into her helicopter and takes off.

 

Adam steps through the open door of Monmouth Manufacturing. Gansey sits at his desk and pretends to read.

"Oh, there you are!" he says so surprised that he definitely wasn't surprised at all.

"Gansey. The door was open."

"That must have been Noah."

Noah sits grinning on the billiard table and shakes his head.

Adam waves a hand dismissively and drops his bags to the floor. He could also mention that a helicopter does indeed make some noise audible enough inside this building, but why bother?

"Helen sends her love and expects an apology in the next seven days."

"From me? Why? What have I done?" This time, Gansey's honestly surprised. Noah falls backwards on the table and cackles.

"Imputing base motives, for example? Mistrustfulness?" suggests Adam, crossing his arms. 

Gansey straightens his glasses on his nose. "Not without reason," he pouts.

"You're being ridiculous. She is your sister!" His knowledge on sibling-relationships are only second-hand, and not the best on top of that, but he'd hoped Helen and Gansey would set a better example.

"I don't know how stating this fact is supposed to appease me but all right, I'm going to call her. As soon as I have my phone back."

"Yeah, working on it." Adam crouches down and pulls the charger for Ronan's phone and the packet of condoms from his bag. Halfway to Ronan's room he stops. He looks at Noah and Gansey.

"How was your weekend?"

"Patchy," says Noah at the same time Gansey replies with, "Grim".

"Uhu." He looks from the one to the other and they both look at him. He may as well expect the worst, then, and continues his way to Ronan.

 

Adam doesn't bother with knocking because - as he presumes correctly - Ronan lies on his bed and is wearing his headphones, Adam can hear the bass thundering standing here at the door.

But then Adam's breath gets caught when he looks around the room.

Where on Friday the whole room had been in complete shambles it is now perfectly tidy. Books are stacked in neat piles, the desk is recognisable as such, the dream things are lined up along the walls - apparently organized thematically on brief inspection - and not one piece of clothing can be found on the floor.

Adam looks at Ronan who lies on his back, eyes closed and his arms spread over his head. Adam hesitates a moment, drops the charger and the condoms on the desk and walks then to the bed. Ronan hasn't moved an inch. Adam sighs and lies down next to Ronan, mirroring his posture.

Only then Ronan pulls off the headphones and drops them onto the floor before he puts his arm back behind his head, all that without opening his eyes.

Adam sighs again. "How was your weekend?" he asks after a short while.

Ronan waves a hand around but stays silent.

"That bad, huh?"

"Fuck you Parrish."

"Yeah, I missed you, too."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Ronan scoffs. "That bad, huh?" he repeats Adam's answer but with more sarcasm.

Adam chuckles. "No, it wasn't. On the contrary, even. But nevertheless..."

Silence.

Adam stares at the ceiling and thinks about his weekend. He thinks about the wedding and the church. He thinks about the people he has met. He thinks about what Abram has said to him and to Helen. And finally he thinks about what Helen had said to him just thirty minutes ago. She has put into words what he’d suspected long ago. Her saying it out loud makes it real, so real that Adam can no longer evade it.

"What are you going to do after school?" he asks Ronan.

"Coming home, like every day. What else?"

"No, I mean after graduation?" Adam looks sideways at Ronan. His eyes are finally open.

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Why should I? It's not important."

"It's important to me. And it would help me making decisions."

"What?" Ronan turns to face him and frowns. "You’re going to go to one of the best colleges of the country! What has my future to do with yours?"

"Yes, I’m leaving. But if we do what I intend us to do, it has a lot to do with yours, too.”

"You're not making any sense, Parrish." Ronan's frown deepens.

But Adam meets the frown with fearlessness. No more evading.

"Well, then I have to make myself clearer." Adam turns on his side towards Ronan and cups Ronan's cheek with his hand. Ronan's eyes widen in shock and he gasps. Adam looks Ronan in the eyes and waits a moment, waits a moment to make sure that what he's going to do is allowed. Welcomed even.

Nothing changes on Ronan's face, so Adam leans in and kisses him.

And Ronan kisses him back.

And maybe it's not perfect but it feels right. In Adam's head the thoughts are whirring and spinning, too fast to grasp and inspect further.

Adam's hand moves to Ronan's nape when he feels Ronan's hand on his head pulling him closer. Adam dares to shift and lie partly on Ronan's chest, putting his weight on his arm besides Ronan's head. But Ronan's other arm sneaks around Adam's back to pull him even closer and on top of him.

Adam huffs in surprise and Ronan grabs his chance to take over the lead, not that Adam is complaining. He has made his decision and Ronan uses everything he has to convince him that it was the right decision, that he wants Adam, that he wants this, that Adam is wantable.

Ronan combs Adam's hair from his face but it falls back again and again. Adam giggles and lifts his head to look down at Ronan.

"You should borrow one of maggot's hair clips. A pretty bow for example," Ronan teases and tugs Adam's fringe, curls it around his index.

Adam crunches his nose in disgust. "I should just finally get a haircut."

"And losing this fluff? Over my dead body," Ronan says fondly and combs again through Adam's wavy hair.

Then he grins. "If I'd known that a tidy room turns you on, I'd have used it sooner to get things going," repeating Adam's words from Friday.

"Yeah, now you know my secret. Use it wisely," Adam replies with Ronan's answer and tugs lightly at Ronan's ear.

Ronan strokes the back of his hand along Adam's cheekbone down to his chin. "What brought this up?" he asks and nudges Adam's chin with his index.

Adam leans into the touch and kisses Ronan's finger. "I told a new friend that friendship affords lots of introspection of all parties involved. So I thought I should follow my advice. That's the result," he says and nods at Ronan.

Ronan smiles at him. "I like that result."

"Yeah, me too," Adam says and leans back down to kiss Ronan again.

 

****

 

"Stop pushing, Lynch, will you?"

"How long does it take for you to open the door?"

"It could be already open if you would stop pushing for just two seconds! Jesus Christ."

"Language, Parrish, we're in a church."

"No, actually, we're not. We were if you would Stop. Pushing!" Adam says, fingers fumbling with the keys. To emphasize his statement, he pushes his backside back into Ronan.

"Patience, Parrish, not here." Ronan purrs, grabbing Adam's hips and shoving his thumbs under Adam's shirt, teasing the ticklish spots at Adam’s sides.

Adam groans in frustration but has finally enough room to turn the key in the lock. They stumble through the door when Adam stops short and Ronan crashes into him.

"No stopping! We only have one hour before I have to drop you off at work!" Ronan whines behind him.

But Adam is unable to move or to say a word. Ronan looks around him. On the first step of the stairs to Adam's apartment stands a gigantic laundry basket wrapped as a gift. Adam can see packets of soup, pasta meals, crackers, chips, cookies, coffee, cakes and chocolate through the plastic wrap.

"What the hell?"

"Language, Parrish! Now we're in church." Ronan puts his hands on Adam’s shoulder and bites him in the ear. Adam is still too perplexed to react. So Ronan huffs and pokes around the wrapping, produces an envelope from the inside. He opens it and reads it out loud.

 

_"Adam,_

_Your mentioning college reminded me of my time and I got a trifle nostalgic and went grocery shopping. So here you have a wide selection of all kinds of food I enjoyed during cramming sessions and long nights. I know, I went a bit overboard but you should see my kitchen cabinets. Enjoy the food and dream of college!_

_Helen."_

 

Ronan looks from the card to the basket.

"Fantastic!" he shouts and pulls a bag of crackers from it. "I love these!"

He rips the bag open and starts munching.

"Hey!" Adam says, "I haven't yet decided if I'm going to keep it!"

Ronan rolls his eyes but when he was finished chewing, he says, "Keep it. It's not a grand gesture but more a funny gift. Admittedly, Helen's version of funny is a bit sick, sending you all these kinds of sugary and unhealthy stuff, but hey, I'm willing to sacrifice myself and help you eating all this."

Adam snorts. "I bet you will. All right, let's get this upstairs."

He bends down and picks up the basket. But under the basket lies a rectangular box, wrapped in brown paper. On it was another envelope, securely taped onto the paper around all edges.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Adam shouts. "You gotta be kidding me!"

He shoves the basket in Ronan's arm who has barely enough time to take the cracker-bag between his teeth before it falls onto the floor.

Adam pulls at the envelope and rips it from the paper. It's of the expensive kind, heavy cream-coloured paper with his name written on it in an elaborate cursive handwriting. The letter itself is on the same paper, but no letter head, just the handwritten words:

 

_Dear Adam,_

_when I met you at the wedding I recognised in you a kindred spirit - the handshake of a person tells you often more than his words ever can._

_I know we independant types are not wont to accept gifts easily in fear they might come with conditions attached. We prefer to work hard for anything we want._

_But please believe me when I say this and see this gift as what it is: A present from a fatherly friend who hopes it will help you during your last months at school and then later at college._

_Your friend,_

_Abram_

 

Adam takes a deep breath and looks at the box. When he ripped the envelope from it, it teared the brown paper. Through the hole he can see parts of a picture of a laptop. A cold shiver grips Adam and he's unable to move. In his mind he replays the scene from the wedding: _I worked at a garage during college... I had to earn my tuition, you know? No rich parents... And you, Mr Parrish? Do you already know where the future leads you?...Not really, sir. For now, I concentrate on school and work for a place at good college...You do that, my friend, you do that..._

Ronan looks over his shoulder at the letter.

"Iff diff de og gug fom de wahing?" He mumbles around the bag in his mouth.

"What?" Adam takes the bag from Ronan.

"Is this the old dude from the wedding? The one you and Gansey spoke about?"

"Yeah. Abram Bixby."

"Huh. Seems to be a cool guy. For an old man."

"Yeah, he is. He worked as a mechanic during college."

"Really? Does he know that you do, too?"

"I didn't mention it. But he must have known. I think that's what he meant with the handshake."

"Ah.” Ronan nods. “Your hands. But there's no address, no number. Even if you're going to keep it you have no way to say thank you."

"He doesn't expect a thank you. He expects nothing from me. That's the secret."

Adam looks at Ronan and in this moment Ronan gets it. It's the same way he gives Adam gifts - the hand lotion, the rent - he just does and doesn't talk about it.

"For what it's worth - you deserve it."

Adam considers this but then his eyes snap up at Ronan. "Have you been talking to Helen?"

Ronan looks caught. "Yeah. Gansey insisted I apologise, too, and personally."

"And how did the _you deserve it_ come up?"

"Somehow."

"Ronan!"

"Somehow!" Ronan shouts and is already walking up the stairs, carefully peeking around the basket in his hands. "Your bigger problem is going to be Gansey. If he finds out that you accept a gift from Helen and this Abram, he's going to be royally pissed!"

"Thanks for the reminder, Lynch. But he doesn't need to know, now does he?" Adams takes the box and follows Ronan.

"Depends on what you're going to pay for my silence."

"You can keep the bag of crackers," Adam deadpans.

Ronan snorts. "Nice try, Adam, but I'm not that cheap. Use a bit of your imagination."

So Adam does and a smirk spreads over his face.

" _Da mi basia mille_ ," whispers Adam as he passes Ronan to unlock his apartment, eyes locked with Ronan's. He walks backwards into the room and keeps talking. " _Deinde centum_ ," he says low and drops his bag to the floor and puts the box on his desk, " _dein mille altera, dein secunda cent-_ " but here he cannot continue for Ronan has dropped the basket by door and lunges forward, grabs Adam with one hand by the hip and tugs with the other at Adam’s tie and kisses the words out of his mouth.

Adam takes a deep breath through the nose and sighs against Ronan's lips.

Ronan's hand at his neck travels into his hair and tugs and Adam grabs Ronan by the waist and drags him closer, their bodies flush. His fingers trail along Ronan's spine up to his neck and shorn head. The kiss is long and frantic, then soft and light and tender.

"Did you think I was joking?" Ronan whispers and presses their foreheads together.

"Of course not," whispers Adam back, "You never lie."

Ronan rubs his nose along Adam’s.

“Hmm, speaking of - the payment for my silence-” A grin spreads over Ronan’s face. Adam groans and pushes him backwards onto his mattress.

“You have twenty minutes, Lynch, then I have to get ready for work!”

 

Ronan drops Adam off just in time and when Boyd has heard the screeching tires of Ronan's BMW as he turned into the parking lot, he doesn't mention it.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the translations for the Latin used in this fic: 
> 
> Stultorum est se alienis immiscere negotiis.  
> It is foolish to become involved in another's work. (Or simply: Mind your own business; Latin proverb)
> 
> Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo  
> (Catallus 16 - [read here.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_16) )
> 
> [...]Da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum[...]  
> [...]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, and then another hundred[...]  
> (Catallus 5)


End file.
